Lost Scenes: October 6, 2006
by Brainlock
Summary: Just a quick little plot bunny scene set in s1's "Hiros" after Matt passes out on his ice cream errand. Heroes Canon?/SouthLAnd prequel? definite prequel to my Recruitment arc, establishing Parkman and Cooper as acquaintances. hinted, but NONslash.


HEROES / SouthLAnd

Lost Scenes - October 6, 2006

Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable characters, just playing with Tim Kring's toys.

Characters: Matt Parkman, John Cooper, Chickie Brown, Janice Parkman

A/N - show canon? Definite prequel to my "Recruitment" arc...which i haven't uploaded anything new since Jan, 2010, almost two years ago. oy.

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><p>"It's okay, I'm a cop," Matt heard himself say as the world spun. He had a sense of falling before everything went black.<p>

He woke to the familiar sound of sirens. "Ohh, what happened?" he grumbled. His head pounded.

"No move! I call police!" he heard someone shout.

"I'm on the job," he replied automatically, trying to sit up. It wasn't working well. He held his head in his hands to keep it from exploding.

"_Freeze! Keep your hands where I can see them!_" someone else shouted. He sounded vaguely familiar.

"That him!" the first voice shouted. "He try to rob me!"

"Don't try to move!" the authoritative voice yelled.

Matt moved his hands down off his face to see who was yelling at him. It took him a second to put the name to the face. "Cooper?"

"Parkman?" the blond cop asked, confused. He turned back to the manager. "This is who you said was robbing you?"

"He have gun! Scare customers away!" he exclaimed. "Then he fall down, I call you! Arrest him!"

Matt heard someone moving behind him. "All clear," came a female voice. "No one else in the store."

John Cooper knelt down by his fellow officer. "What's going on, Matt?" he inquired. He could see Parkman was out of sorts. "Are you on anything?" He glanced around for the alleged gun.

"What? No," Matt snapped. "Head's killing me, is all." He motioned to the counter. "I just came in for some ice cream and aspirin," he explained.

"Ice cream for a headache?" the female officer inquired. She had stepped around in front of Matt so he could see her as Cooper holstered his gun.

"Chickie, right?" he asked. She nodded. "No, the ice cream was for the wife, aspirin was for me," he informed her.

"Why's this guy say you were holding him up, Parkman?" Cooper asked, holding out a hand to help his friend up. He grunted as he helped Matt to his feet. He was obviously disoriented, off balance.

"What? No, it was some kid. I saw what he was up to, talked him out of it," he explained. "Then I think I fainted?"

"Nerves of steel, huh?" Cooper teased.

"Wife wore me out," Matt retorted. "Then she had the nerve to send me out for dessert."

"Sure, Matt," John chuckled. "Gonna have to give you a quick pat down, just in case," John advised him, quickly checking Matt's jacket pockets and palming his jeans. "You carrying your back-up or anything?"

He shook his head. "Have forensics swab my dick, you don't believe me," Matt teased, still unsteady on his feet. The tenor of his voice didn't even change as Cooper goosed him.

_Ugh! I don't want to even think about that._

_Don't tease me, big guy._

Matt turned and looked in confusion between the other two officers. Who had said what? "What'd you say?"

"He had gun!" the clerk insisted. "He try to shoot me!"

"Where's this gun, Matt?" Cooper inquired, ignoring Matt's own question.

Matt pointed back to the aisle he had woken up in. "Back there, on the shelf, I think?" he said. Flashing lights distracted him from outside. He saw two pair. "You guys called for back-up on this?" he asked.

Chickie answered. "We had a report of armed robbery, man down. That's the ambulance."

Matt's head was still in a fog. "Oh, okay." He took a tentative step toward the door, then stumbled.

John caught him by the arm. "Let's get them to check you out, okay, Matt?"

Chickie stepped back out from the aisle, pistol hanging on the end of her pen. "Here's the weapon. You got an evidence baggie?"

"That's it!" the old man exclaimed. "That's the gun he tried to shoot me with!"

Matt looked back over his shoulder in confusion as Cooper helped him outside. "What? I didn't shoot anybody?"

John motioned to the ambulance it was okay to come out. "We need to give Officer Parkman a once over, make sure he's okay," he ordered them. The two men took over escorting Matt to the back of their vehicle as Cooper went back in to help Chickie get the store owner's statement and check the store camera.

Fifteen minutes later, he came back out and handed Matt a cup of hot coffee as the ambulance pulled away. "Here. EMT's think it was just blood sugar or something?"

"Thanks," Matt said as he took the cup and sipped it, sitting against the patrol unit. Not his preferred brand, but it had been sweetened. He choked it down, anyway. "Like I said, wife wore me out, sent me down here."

Cooper checked the lot. "Where's your car?"

Matt shrugged. "I'm just a couple blocks away. I was feeling up to the walk, so I didn't bother."

Cooper stood there awkwardly a moment. "So...date night?"

"Yeah."

"Haven't had one of those in a while."

"Well, you and Laurie-" Matt began, then remembered hearing they had divorced. "Oh, right. Sorry."

John shook his head. "We're still friendly."

Matt nodded. "That's good. Jan and I were having a rough patch, too. Tonight was supposed to make up for that," he smirked. "Reconnect and all."

Both men watched Chickie wrapping up inside. "At least one of us is still getting his gun polished," John teased.

Matt laughed. "What about you and Chickie?" he pointed his coffee cup in her direction. She happened to catch this.

"No," John replied, almost too quickly. "No, uh, I mean, it wouldn't be good to fool around with your, uh, partner-" _Shut! Up! Damn idiot!_

Matt gave him an odd look. He could almost swear the usually reserved John was blushing. "No, I guess not," he finished, saving his friend some embarrassment.

"So, I guess you need a ride home?" John offered, leaning into nudge Matt. _Please say yes._

Matt started to nod, but caught the extra thought. He gave John a funny look. "Yeah, if, uh, you don't mind. Janice is probably wondering where I am, right now."

"Let me guess. You didn't bring your phone, either?" he teased, fishing his own out and offering it to Matt.

"Thanks, man," he said and dialed home.

_Gotcha._

Matt glanced oddly back to his friend again as Chickie rejoined them. "Hey Jan, it's me," he told her. "Sorry, I got held up a few minutes down here. I'll fill you in when I get home. No, I'm fine. Yes, I've got your ice cream," he said, eyes going wide as the two officers stifled laughter. "Okay, yes, I'll be home in a few minutes. Bye." He snapped the phone shut and handed it back to Cooper. "Neither of you happened to grab my ice cream off the counter, did you?"

"Nope," she said and held up the bag from behind her back. The other two finally burst out laughing.

"That's not mine, then?" Matt decided, before laughing along with them.

Five minutes later, Cooper pulled up to Matt's home. _And the hat trick._ "Here you go, buddy. Think you can manage to make it to the front door?"

Matt saw the front light flick on. "That depends on if she's going to clobber me or not," he chuckled. "Besides, one of you has to let me out of the back, here."

John and Chickie gave each other an annoyed look. She pointed at him. "Good night, Parkman," she said as Cooper got out to let Matt out of the backseat. He saw the man's wife standing at the door, concerned look on her face from the squad car.

"Think you can handle this, Matt?" John asked, already escorting him to the door.

"What's going on?" Janice demanded, looking between the two men, not recognizing Cooper. "I've been worried sick!"

"Hi, Jan, I can explain," Matt said, handing her the bag with her ice cream.

Cooper cut him off, going into full cop mode. "Mrs. Parkman, your husband is in very serious trouble," he began. Matt gave him an annoyed look. "No, I'm just kidding. It does seem he stopped a potential robbery. Of course, then he fainted like a rookie," he told her, smirking.

"You _what?_" she exclaimed, hugging his arm.

Matt nodded, hugging her to him. "Basically, yeah." He turned back to Cooper. "I think I've got it from here, John. I'll see you later?"

_I hope so. _Cooper took his proffered hand and shook it. "Yeah, Matt. Take care, now."

Matt gave him an odd look again. "Thanks, man. Sorry about all the paperwork on this, though. I'll fill out my share tomorrow, okay?"

John shrugged his hands open. "Well, you know, all part of the job, buddy," he said and nodded to Janice before turning to leave. _Lucky woman, getting all that to herself._

"And hey," Matt called after him.

John nervously turned back, momentarily fearing he had accidentally said it out loud. Matt's demeanor to him felt _off_ somehow. As if he knew what John had been thinking about him, or how he had frisked him inappropriately.

"Go easy on that kid if you run those prints, huh?" Matt urged him. "He was desperate and trying to take care of his family. He's got a baby and no money."

Janice tensed up when he said that. If he felt it, he didn't say anything. She hoped he was distracted talking to his friend.

John seemed to mull this over for a minute, then nodded. "Your call, Matt." He gave a quick salute and returned to the car. He knew Matt was watching him the whole time. Once he saw Matt and his wife had gone in, he turned to Chickie. "You got that gun?"

"It's in the trunk, why?"

"I'll check it in and do the paperwork on this, okay?" he told her. _I can wipe it before we put it into evidence or run the serial number._

She gave him an odd look. "Do I want to know?"

"Favor to a friend," he said and pulled away. _A friend that will punch me out if he really knew what I was thinking, tonight. Damn it, I gotta keep control of this! Can't have the others thinking I'm weak because I like... _

"By the way, what was up with how you groped him?"

_Shut up and drive, Cooper._


End file.
